Comforting candles? Check. Sleep trackers? Check. Gifts that’ll make life a little easier next year? Check, check, & check. While you’re at it, check out our holiday guides for the best gifts from Latin-owned brands and the best cookbooks by Latin chefs.
The body always knows what it needs and when it needs it most — you might just need a hand in figuring out which are the wellness tools and items to gift yourself and the ones you love for the 2024 holiday season, offering everyone’s self-care practices a boost in the new year. Whether you are craving movement, either physical or mental, some sunshine, or above all, a moment of self tending-to as the bustle of responsibilities of everyday life take up most of your attention, the ultimate source to help keep that engine going all lies in your wellbeing.
Gadgets tailored to learning the ins and outs of your sleep cycle or optimizing your state of rest might do the trick. Or, something as unexpected as shuffling through a deck of cards full of daily affirmations will do you good. This holiday season, focus in on the wellness tools and practices that stimulate your skin and senses or simply put, make moments of self-care all the more ritualistic. From Latin-owned and minority-owned wellness brands to the best in sleep tech and lymphatic drainage tools to come by, here’s what to shop on the wellness front.
1. Tronque Ionic Body Dry Brush ($70, Shop on Neiman Marcus)
Not to exaggerate but, if you’ve ever been skeptical about the humble dry brush or haven’t seemed to find a reason for trying one out, everything changes once you do. Simply put: I’ve pushed my coffee intake back an hour in the morning thanks to the burst of energy that fills me up after I dry brush my entire body (even the palms of my hands) with the Tronque dry brush post-shower. Look out for those lymphatic portals throughout the body and make sure you’re brushing upward or outwards towards them. This dry brush is firm, dense, and powerful, stroking the skin with firm copper brush bristles that are ion-charged and beautifully exfoliate and, tone the skin, and of course, enhance your energy and better circulation.
2. San Soli Dark Cyprus Candle ($65, Shop on San Soli)
The moment this San Soli candle gets lit up in the corner nook of our living room, a deep breathe of calmness takes over the entire space. Developed is Grasse, France, Dark Cyprus has a gender-neutral aroma and is long-burning, whose pine notes definitely come through yet with an understated hint of sage and citrus lingering around. It’s the perfect kickstarter for a writing session, lounge around, or a cozy day in.
3. Bloomi Travel Bundle ($68, Shop on Bloomi or Amazon)
You and yours — ahem, your forever friend or anyone who instantly comes to mind — deserve the ultimate travel buddy this holiday season: the Bloomi play and pleasure tote and bundle. While your off setting intentions for the new year, set a new standard for personal intimacies while you’re at it. The Travel Bundle comes with Bloomi’s Play curved vibrator, which is waterproof and fits in the palm of your hand, and the Desire Sensual Pleasure Oil, formulated with plant-based ingredients and meant to “heighten sensitivity” during play or peak. Check out Bloomi’s sexologist-approved tips to get the most out of your new favorite toy (and tote).
4. De La Heart The Body Tool ($36, Shop on De La Heart or Amazon)
The woodworks of sculpting and massaging the body as a form of ritualistic beauty and wellness care has been a part of our community’s DNA for ages, and the de la Heart brand and Body Tool were dreamt up for that exact reason. As a self-care essential born from founder Gigi Vogel’s Colombian traditions, every crevice on the Body Tool can iron out tension and tone along the thighs, waist, booty, and more. Referred to as wood therapy, soothe the body with a tool that is handcrafted in Colombia.
5. La Boticá Large Palo Santo Set ($35, Shop on La Boticá)
Oftentimes the very best wellness remedies are performed at home base, and if you’re looking to clear and cleanse your space as part of it all — or beforehand — open your windows and burn a lock from La Botica’s Palo Santo Set. 12 sticks come with, and are sourced from Ecuador.
6. Vela Negra Raíces Candle ($60, Shop on Vela Negra)
Three familiar scents, in one artisanal mexican-dough bowl. VelaNegra’s Raíces candle comes in a hearty basin that doubles as coffee table talk decor, allowing you to alternate between a well-lit blend of dark chocolate and coconut, hibiscus and rosewater, or, masculine palo santo and musk.
7. Almadé Affirmation Deck Cards for Wholeness ($30, Shop on The Salvaged Sawhorse)
No matter the day or the mood of the day, gifting an affirmation deck to your loved ones is actually a gift for their inner dialogue. Something positive comes from each card pulled when sifting through the Almadé Affirmation Deck, and while we’re at it, it serves as just the right reason to learn how to shuffle a deck of cards. In many ways, acts of wellbeing can start with how you speak to and speak of, yourself. So here’s a cue for the mind and matter.
8. Ere Perez Quartz Sculpt & Lift Face Stone ($30, Shop on Ere Perez and Amazon)
Made with clear natural quartz for all the clarity in the world, the Ere Perez Quartz Sculpt & Lift Face Stone features a mermaid tale-shaped tip for stimulating all the pressure points around the eyebrow, and massaging out tension near the jawline. This year, I skipped the 10-step skincare routine and put all my attention on facial massage. This face stone helps release all the tension we hold in our face, and was designed with a flat surface and curved silhouette to make your daily facial massage your own.
9. Elix Daily Harmony ($38, Shop on Elix)
I add this daily tincture to a cup of room temperature or hot water, nourishing every phase of my cycle with a curated dose of Chinese medicinal herbs that aren’t capsulated (which is cheaper to make) and purely boiled. Elix’s Daily Harmony formula focuses on supporting your digestion and cycle fluctuations that affect mood and energy, removing any alcohol or preservatives from the equation. Since introducing TCM into my wellness routine, the highs and lows of the menstrual, follicular, ovulation, and lastly, luteal phase are completely in my control.
10. Hatch Restore 2 Sunrise Alarm Clock ($170, Shop on Hatch and Amazon)
After one too many mornings waking up startled by my cellphone’s awful alarm clock ringer, it was time to invest in sleep care. Feeling well rested is where it all begins, and you can enhance the experience straight through the sleep sounds, bedside light, and sunrise alarm features the Hatch Restore 2 sunrise sleep clock features, controlled through the Hatch app or the rest and rise buttons on the sleep device itself. It’s a must for setting yourself up with a new wind-down routine and good morning hello. After all, what’s a good night’s rest with a cell phone near your space and body.
11. Cora the Simply Soothing Heat Patch ($15, Shop on Cora and in a 2-pack on Amazon)
Looking for a unique (and much-needed) stocking stuffer? Prioritizing menstrual wellness can be as simple as dedicating the day to minimal movement, rest, and loose clothing. Except, if your cramps tend to linger around your lower back or stomach, nothing does the trick like a heated assist. Cora, a clean menstrual care brand, has a carbon-activated heat patch made for that monthly discomfort; remaining warm for up to eight hours and simply adhering to your undies in whichever area you need it to. The Simply Soothing Heat Patch is made with raspberry leaf, dandelion root, and cramp bark, serving as your motivator on days when the monthly menstrual takes over.
12. HigherDose Infrared Sauna Blanket ($560, Shop on Amazon)
It’s not every day you get to take part in a sauna session, unless you’re open to bringing the sensoriality of the sauna to the comfort of your home through wellness tech — without the bulk if you’ve got limited space. Whether your muscles are recuperating or you’re looking for a newfound source of detox and grounding, HigherDose’s Infrared Sauna Blanket can be rolled out onto your floor, heated up in 10 minutes for you to slip right into it, and tucked back into the closet once you’ve sweat it all out. Think of this wellness sauna blanket as your at-home cocoon, that you’ll come out of feeling radiant, refreshed, and ready to regroup.
13. Apple Watch Series 10 Smartwatch ($379–$399, Shop on Amazon)
The latest and greatest device for tracking your sleep, health, and fitness, all while depending on exceptional battery life? The Apple Watch Series 10 smartwatch. This watches build is sleek, thin, and titanium-based, and has the features you want to make sure your go-to watch is waterproof. If you’re going for a swim, tracking fitness metrics, or zoning in on sleep quality, its a gift that will go a long way.
14. Chani App Gift Subscription (Shop on Apple)
Do your Astro bestie a favor, and put them onto the Chani App. Loaded with guided meditations for affirming your sense of belonging, intuition, abundance, and so much more, this is an Astrology and manifestation app that helps you uncover the beauty of your birth chart, moon, sun, and rising signs in an actual digestible manner. Perhaps you just started sound meditating or are interested in tapping into what the new or full moon of every month signals for your particular zodiac sign—either way, this app is the gift that keeps on giving and has something new to offer.
A Chani App subscription can be gifted by purchasing an Apple or Android app store gift card.
15. Maude Burn No.3 ($30, Shop on Maude or Amazon)
A new way to initiate intimacy (or a well-deserved massage from your partner) is Maude’s soy-based massage candle. It’s a pleasurable wellness gift for you and them — all while soothing and softening the skin barrier with jojoba oil and heightening the senses with notes of eucalyptus and vetiver. Once it is lit and melted into a liquid as a candle would, burn no.3 turns into a jojoba-based body oil for a nice grip and moisture as you massage the skin.
16. Rahua Rainforest Grown Beauty Hydration Heroes Set (Shop as a $137 set on Rahua or individually on Amazon)
Drastic changes in weather are first to show face through the health of your skin, scalp, and strands. If you’ve got a friend yapping away about their winter skin and dull hair (I’m the friend), set them up with Rahua’s Hydration Heroes shampoo and conditioner duo, hair mask, and detangler and heat protectant spray. Powered with Amazonian oils and protein bonding sugars, this haircare set is a cure-all for dehydrated textured hair and color-treated hair.
17. Jacana Releaf Balm in Lemongrass ($70, Shop on Jacana Wellness)
We soothe the wear and tear of our active life with Jamaican wellness brand Jacana’s Releaf Balm. Made with beeswax and essential oils, this everyday essential is reserved for shoulder work, the heels of our feet, and targeted soreness. Everything from organic menthol, lemongrass oil, and tea tree oil is infused within the Releaf Balm’s lemongrass formula, featuring ingredients grown in Jacana’s farm in Jamaica.